The Spirit of Competition
by Tono555
Summary: Asami is a typical middle school student who loves nothing but sports. However, everything changes when she is forced to enter her school's swim team. Here, a chance meeting with new people changes her outlook on her whole life.
1. Chapter 1

"Come on, Asami! Time for school!" Hiroshi Sato yelled.

 _Damn it._ Asami groaned and rolled over, not wanting to have to go. It wasn't like the sixteen year-old normally wanted to, but this year was different, as her bus had changed its schedule, and she was now forced to get up earlier to be able to catch it. It didn't help that soccer tryouts hadn't started yet; not to mention, the ninth grade sucked thus far, so today there was no point in going as far as Asami was concerned. She threw a shirt and some pants on, then walked downstairs, where her father was waiting for her. Her mother didn't bother coming downstairs at all - she was too lazy to even get up, but Hiroshi didn't mind, since he had to go to work anyway.

"Hurry up, Asami! You are going to be late and school hasn't even been going on for two weeks!" her father exclaimed.

"Sorry, Dad," Asami replied. She grabbed a granola bar, her lunch money, and raced out of the house.

While she walked to the bus stop, she thought about how she and her team would kick ass this season. She had been playing soccer ever since she was little and loved every little detail. Her team was based a few miles away from her school and was way more advanced. Last year, they won two tournaments, with Asami as the captain of the team.

Her school was a fairly new building. The district she lived in had gotten so big that they had to build another high-school. It was said to be one of the best in the country, though it didn't matter to Asami 'cause she hated it anyway. At school, she didn't have much friends. She had a small group of friends whom she liked, but found greatly annoying at times. As such, she had no one to sit next to at the bus. She was about to sit next to some girl from her grade, but was told that it was reserved. _Reserved, my ass._

Asami really hated people. She just couldn't stand them, and she normally spent time in the bathroom or roaming the school grounds instead of going to class. Since school was only starting, though, she at least showed up, albeit sleeping through most classes. Needless to say, Asami was quite shy when it came to talking to people and making new friends and coming to a new school terrified her.

No one decided to sit next to her and school went as it normally went when it was still one of the beginning weeks. Teachers being nice _yeah, not for long_ , journals, utensils being handed out, and finally a paper which contained after-school activities. This one Asami usually just gave to her parents because they were forced to sign it, and then keep going to her normal soccer team, but today would be different. Ever so slightly.

* * *

So Asami got home and did what she normally did. First, she threw her school bag to the floor. _Homework? Yeah, no._ Then, she threw herself onto her couch and turned her Xbox on, placed the FIFA disc on the tray, and played until her father returned. She bought many players for her "Ultimate Team" such as Carlos Vela, Fernando Torres, and Andrea Pirlo. Asami wasn't very good at videogames and rarely played them. The only videogame that bent that rule completely was FIFA. Oh, yeah; she could play FIFA all day long.

Asami's mother arrived afterwards, and so did her father. Hiroshi made cars in his own company called Future Industries. Asami didn't know much more than that, but they were doing alright, so she figured it didn't really matter. Hiroshi walked directly up to his room, where Yasuko, Asami's mother was. He didn't even stop to say hello to Asami, so she walked up with the sheet she had been handed at school, to get them to sign it. But heard her parents' voices. They sounded terribly worried, and it made Asami freeze.

"Don't know what we're going to do..." Hiroshi worriedly said.

"You can't let this happen! What about Asami?! What about the house?!" Her mother questioned. Asami was stopped herself from knocking and tried to figure out what was going on.

"Cabbage Corp is making things very difficult right now," Hiroshi calmly replied. "I think we'll have to find a smaller place." Hiroshi paused for a moment, then called his daughter.

As Asami walked into the room, she couldn't ignore their faces. They looked so down and hurt, so Asami thought she would try to make things easier by understanding the situation they were in, even if it hurt. _Be strong. You can do this._

"Asami..." Her mother tried, but sobbed.

"Asami, the company is really not doing well at the moment. We've had to let a lot of people go, and our money ... won't be enough to stay here any longer," her father explained.

"I understand," Asami said with a sincere nod. _Moving wouldn't be too bad._

"You need to understand that things," her mother said with a sob, "will not be like they were."

"I understand," Asami repeated. _Well, isn't that a little obvious?_

"You won't be able to bring lunch money, and we'll have to cut your allowance," her father included.

 _Dang it!_ "I understand," Asami once again said. This one hurt her, though. She liked being able to go shopping on Fridays with her miserably small group of friends and hanging out.

Hiroshi smiled, "At least we have a daughter that supports us. Asami? What is that you have in your hand?"

Asami had completely forgotten about the paper. Then she explained that the paper was for the after-school activities, and that they just had to sign it so that she could hand it back to her professor. Her father took a look at the paper, read it, signed it, and handed it back. Asami checked to see if she still had to fill anything out, but instead horror flashed inside her, for it wasn't just signed - her father had selected an activity, and it wasn't even soccer! _What the -?_

"Umm ... Dad?" Asami started.

"What is it, Asami?"

"I think you made a mistake here," Asami nervously chuckled. "It says here ... that you signed me up for..." Then Asami saw what she had been signed up for. _No. Fucking. Way._ " _SWIMMING?!_ " There was absolutely not a single sport which sounded more boring and stupid.

"Hoh, yes, that is not a mistake..." Hiroshi replied. "Like I said before, _he, he_ we are down on money, and it looks like it's the cheapest sport on there. Plus, you could benefit from swimming a little; it is said to be the most complete sport in the world!"

 _You gotta give him some credit for trying._ "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK! I AM A SOCCER PLAYER, NOT A STUPID FISH! I DO PLENTY OF SWIMMING ON VACATION, AND I HATE EVERY MINUTE OF IT! REALLY, DAD?! COULD YOU FIND A MORE BORING, LAME, AND JUST A SPORT THAT IS TOO DAMN EASY?!"

"Yep, you are definitely in puberty," her mom muttered under her breath.

The fight raged on for two whole hours. Asami's mother even left to get dinner, while Hiroshi and Asami explained/talked and yelled, respectively. Asami couldn't bear the thought of not even getting to play soccer this year. It was a nightmare! _First, the ninth grade stinks, now this?_ They talked on until Asami was too tired to go on. She wasn't happy about it, but at the end of the day, she would have to do it anyway.

"Look, Asami. I understand your passion for soccer, and I love it, but this year I just... can't do it. Try it, please. Just this year," Hiroshi pleaded.

Asami sighed. She knew that she really didn't have a choice at this point, but she figured she could give it a go this year and the next, return to soccer. She didn't see how this could be hard and how it would affect her soccer skills, since she could still play at school. The only difference is that now, she would be swimming representing her school.

"All right, Dad," she said. "I will do this because you two need it. But don't expect me to like it, because you two tried to put me in swimming classes before, and it was ridiculous."

"Honey, this isn't like before," her mother answered. "This is a swim _team_. Just hang in there, sweetie. I promise this horrible year will go by in the blink of an eye, but look at it this way: things go by fast if you are having fun, and you will be doing something new. Try to enjoy it, or this year will really suck for you because you are going whether you like it or not. By the way, you are grounded for the tone you used when discussing with your father."

 _Ugh._ "Yeah, yeah, all right," Asami replied, with a tear rolling down her cheek. _Can't wait till this year ends._ And with that, she stormed off to her room.

* * *

During that week, the moving van came and started packing everything. Everything seemed to be going too fast. Asami could barely keep up with the changes that were going on in her life. It was like she was being torn apart, and she didn't like that one bit.

The other day, she found a former person that was on her team. However, when she let her know that she was not going to be playing soccer anymore, she felt betrayed by Asami, and quickly informed the rest of the team, which of course, had to feel the same way. Asami's life was really changing for the worst, and it was as if she didn't even have the time to say: "soccer" one time before there was another drastic change that she did not enjoy.

She kept going to school, through August until September came. The place where the swimming would be was at a building where high-school students went, but it was still the same school. Asami and her mother headed over there, where they talked to the cashier. She was an old woman who had glasses, that looked like she was sweet, but could shout like crazy when was necessary. Asami and her mother sat down in front of her.

"Good day," Yasuko said.

"Hello," answered the old lady. "What may I do for you?"

"I am here to sign my daughter Asami up for train with the swim team," Yasuko proceeded to say.

By now, Asami was already bored, so she just sat there and waited until she was interrupted.

"Did you hear that, Asami?" Her mother asked, looking at Asami with big eyes.

"I'm sorry, what?" Asami asked.

"You will be training for two hours. From Monday to Thursday," the old woman answered. "Your training times will be from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. That is, if you want to be able to make the team, of course."

 _But I don't **want** to and probably **won't** make the stupid team_. "Sounds good," Asami politely answered. _Man, and I thought this would only be for one hour. Shit._

They finally left after Asami's mother paid the woman whose name turned out to be Mrs. Xue, and headed to a shop to buy a swim suit, a pair of goggles, and a swim cap. On the way, Asami looked out the window in hopes that at least swimming could bring her something good. They bought all the basic stuff at a shop close by, and after what seemed like a century, they headed home where they had dinner. Hiroshi cooked Asami's favorite: noodles. He hoped to cheer her up, but he miserably failed. It would take a lot more than noodles to get Asami out of this dismal position she found herself in. She went to bed, thinking of the day ahead of her. _At least it will be a Thursday, which means you only have to swim one day, and then it's break. Plus, your birthday is on Friday!_ Asami got excited again, until she remembered that she had no friends. At least she had family, so it could be fun, nonetheless.

Asami barely slept when her father once again called her for school. The day was a regular one until five thirty. At that hour, the entire house was a mayhem. Asami packed towel, goggles, swimsuit, swimming cap, and clothes to change, since she was wearing the swimsuit under all her clothes. She was running up and down the house to see if she had everything.

"Do you have your goggles?" asked her Mother.

"Yes!" hollered Asami.

"Swimsuit?"

"Check."

"Water?"

 _Shit._ "Uhm ... yes?" Asami said as she ran down to the kitchen as fast as her legs would carry her to fill her thermos up.

"Well, come on! Let's go or you'll be late!" Yasuko yelled at her child.

Asami hurried to get down and was soon in the car to her mother's right.

"Can't believe it ... you're gonna be late. And it's your first day!" Yasuko exclaimed.

"Mom ... it's five forty-five. We have enough time to make it," Asami replied, laughing.

"I guess you're right. I think I am more nervous about this than you are."

"Trust me, Mom. I am freaking out," Asami assured her mother.

They headed over to the pool, where Asami was dropped off. She was to swim while her mother went for groceries. She kissed her mother good-bye and got off the car. She walked inside to the women's locker room. There, she took her clothes off comfortably and headed over to the pool quickly. _The advantage of wearing the suit underneath._ She held her goggles and cap in her right hand as she stared at the pool from one end. _This is my life now._ When she turned around, she saw something that gave her the biggest chill she had ever gotten. She felt her arms and legs spike up with goosebumps, and she shivered. She made the strangest connection with this girl that had just walked in. _Damn, is she **hot**. Did I just think that?_ Asami stared with her mouth open as the girl walked up to her.

"Hello. My name is Korra," she said with a grin.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, agh ah..." That was the first thing Asami said to the first person who spoke to her in swimming. The truth is, a girl had never made Asami jump like that, and it was not because she scared her. Something was weird about this girl who called herself Korra. Asami just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Sorry?" Korra replied.

"I said my name is Asami," she quickly replied, messing with her hair in the process and looking around the pool like a crazy person.

"Hey! Don't be nervous! It's okay to be scared, you're new around here!" Korra tried to make things better.

"No, no, no, it's fine. Hey, I don't think I've ever seen you around at school. How come you're here?" Asami tried to change the subject.

"You see, my school doesn't have a pool and the easiest place to find one was here, so... here I am!"

Asami was now breathing normally, but she really liked this girl, she was very nice and seemed like a good person. Asami thought she would ask some questions just out of curiosity.

"So how long have you been coming here?"

"About eight years. Ever since I was eight."

"Are there any more members?"

"Yeah! We have Bolin, who is super strong. He does freestyle. Mako does breaststroke; usually when you're good at that stroke, you're not good at anything else! Mako... is one of those people. Hasook... well, nobody likes him, actually. He does freestyle too, but Bolin does it so much better, he is forced to do backstroke in which he sucks. Yeah, none of them are from your school," she added when she saw Asami trying to figure out who they were.

"Hm, I just figured they would be from my school since -"

"Hello, Republic City Academy's Pool! Bolin, is back!" A muscular young man said.

"Come on, Bolin," another one standing next to him said. "Do you always have to do that?"

"These are Mako and Bolin!" Korra said.

"Yeah, I figured," Asami muttered under her breath.

So as Korra ran up to them to hug them, Asami walked nervously behind. That was, until Bolin went to her.

"Woah, mama! What do we have here? A new member of the team?"

"I am actually here to do a test. To _see_ if I get in," Asami informed them.

"Ooh," the three said.

Korra turned to face them and said, "You know, I must've been here for three minutes with her, and it didn't even occur to me to ask her what she was doing here."

This caused the brothers to roar with laughter. Suddenly, someone older came in.

"All right, everybody. Get in the pool."

"Tenzin!" the trio called out. They ran up to greet him while Asami just stood awkwardly by the edge of the pool wondering whether to put the goggles underneath or the swim cap.

"I see you have met the newest student, Asami," Tenzin said. "You guys go do a 400 over at lane two, while I test her in lane one."

"You got it, Tenzin," Korra said. With that, the three put on their swim caps, goggles, got in the water, and started to do what the coach had told them.

"All right Asami, you excited?" Tenzin inquired.

"No, not really," was what she wanted to say, but of course, she had to be polite. "I _am_ ," Asami replied. She put on her swim cap and goggles. She then turned to face Tenzin and asked, "So, what should I do?"

"Eh... you could probably do a 200," he replied.

 _Wait whuuuut?_ "I'm sorry? I think I misunderstood," Asami politely replied. _Yeah that, or you have no idea what he's talking about._

"Well, look at it this way ... the pool is 25 meters long. A lap would be fifty meters. That makes a 200, four laps." Tenzin replied.

"Ah, all right," Asami replied. And with that, she got into the pool. She swam like she normally did, trying not to go too fast. As she reached the wall, she grabbed, put her feet in front of her and pushed as hard as she could. As she was finishing her first lap, she already felt her breath getting heavier as she began to tire. As she turned around to do another lap, when she reached the other end of the pool, she grabbed out like she was doing, but looked to her right and saw the three teammates swim. They were obviously going much faster than she was; she could tell by just looking. Suddenly, Mako brought his feet out of the water as if doing a flip, placed them on the wall, and with one swift movement, was back out again. Bolin and Korra did the same subsequently, and left Asami looking at them in shock. _What's wrong with these kids?_. Asami kept on swimming until she finished the four laps. It turns out she finished them at the same time the team did eight.

Asami felt mostly embarrassed. As the test went on, she could see the lane next to her, and the swim team was kicking her ass. They looked like they were going slow, yet they were always arriving before Asami, who was trying desperately to beat them. _Why bother? You know you won't make it._ As her mind told her to give up, Asami had to tell herself constantly that she wasn't one to give up, and that she would see this through till the end. She looked up at the clock, panting. 6:20. She had been there twenty minutes. _Fuck. I thought this would be easy._

"Keep it up, Asami!" Korra said from the next lane.

"Yeah, it's always hard at first but you can do it," Bolin added.

Mako said nothing, so Bolin nudged him.

"Good luck, Asami," he finally said.

"Thanks," Asami answered, but she was almost certain that she would not be accepted. Heck, she might even be expelled from the school because she was so bad. Okay, maybe not that much, but she didn't feel good about the way things were going.

Tenzin put her to do a kicking exercise which would mean the end of her legs for that day. She was to do four 50's kicking as hard as she could. She started out fine, but by the third lap, she wasn't sure she would be able to so the last one.

After kicking, Tenzin thought that a lap of butterfly would be fun to do. It was not. As Asami kicked from the side of the pool, she thought she would do a lot of underwater kicking so that she didn't have to come out of the water too much. However, the last exercise had cancelled the option of any kicking, so she came out of the pool after only five meters of doing so. In butterfly, you have to bring your arms out of the water, bring them in front of you, and pulling yourself forward while kicking. Asami tried to do this, but didn't last long. She somehow managed to get to the other end of the pool, and Tenzin called out to her.

"Asami! When you put your arms into the water, do a kick. Do another one when you are going to push yourself out!"

 _I guess that makes sense._ Asami tried that out, and although it was still hard, it wasn't nearly as hard as the last one was.

"Let's do one last exercise, Asami," Tenzin told her. "This time you will be doing backstroke. Let's see how you do. Do two laps, and we'll see how you're doing with that."

Asami kicked off from the side and started stroking and kicking, repeating until she hit her head on the wall. _OOOOWWW!_ She tried to play it cool by only rubbing her head, but she felt terrible. Luckily, it went away quickly.

"Asami, that's why the flags are there," Tenzin explained. "You have to see how many strokes you do before you reach the wall. You should start counting as soon as you see the flags."

"Thanks, Tenzin," Asami said.

She started swimming again and saw that she had to do 4-5 strokes. She noticed that swimming backstroke was pretty relaxing, and that this could be the one stroke that didn't tire her. As she reached the end of the second lap, she stretched out for the wall and stopped, bringing her feet to the bottom of the pool.

"Asami, your training is over," Tenzin told her. "Congratulations. You are in the swim team."

Asami shouldn't have felt happy, but she did. And a lot.

"Awesome!" Korra exclaimed. "It's nice to finally have a girl on the team."

"Yeah! This is incredible," Bolin also said. "It's nice to finally have a _hot_ girl on the team," he said playfully, getting an angry look from Korra even though the latter knew it was a joke.

"Well? Did you find out what it was, Tenzin?" Mako seriously asked. _What is with this guy? He's such a dick._

"Yeah what is it?!" Bolin demanded.

Asami stared blankly, not knowing what they were even talking about. _Should I get out of the pool?_ It was clear her mind was elsewhere, but she also kind of wanted to find out what _it_ is.

"Well," Tenzin began. "After a series of tests, I have come to the conclusion that it is definitely backstroke."

A loud roar came from lane two. The team seemed pretty excited, so Asami just smiled.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"Remember what I told you before you got into the pool?" Korra asked.

 _You can't forget that, you made a fool of yourself._ "Uhm, yes," Asami replied.

"Everyone has a stroke in which they are best at," Bolin added. "Me, freestyle; Mako, breaststroke; Hasook, also freestyle. He didn't come today, but you'll meet him later, he's a nasty dude."

Asami felt there was someone missing, so she asked, "Well, what does Korra do?"

"Korra is a special case," Tenzin began.

"Korra is good at _every_ stroke. She doesn't have a worst," Mako informed her.

"Wooah," Asami said.

"We like to call her the Avatar," Bolin said.

" _You_ like to call her the Avatar," Mako corrected him.

Asami was still with her mouth open. _She must be pretty good then._

"Stop it, guys," Korra said, blushing. "You're scaring her."

"Anyway," Bolin said. "What this means is that we finally have a complete relay team."

"But, aren't girls and boys separated?" Asami inquired.

"With all these feminist approaches, swimming is now a sport that combines them both. Now, in relays, there have to be two boys and two girls. We're finally complete," Mako explained.

"Well, I hate to be like this, but Asami, we need to speak with your mother," Tenzin said. "Please get dressed quickly, and we shall inform her that you have made the team and other matters."

"All right," Asami said. She got out, but suddenly felt the weight of her body. _Woah, I must be really tired._ She felt very worn out, which is weird because she hadn't even felt tired in the pool. _What the fuck is_ wrong _with this sport?_ She waved good-bye to her new teammates, who she really liked. _They were just_ so _nice._ She then went to the lockers and got dressed.

When she got out, Tenzin was already waiting for her along with her mother.

"How did it go, sweetheart?" her mother asked.

"Everything turned out fine, mom," Asami replied.

"Ma'am, if we could please have a word, that would be great," Tenzin interrupted.

"Oh, of course," Yasuko replied. "How did it go?"

"Well, obviously she isn't as good as the team yet. I decided to accept her, however, as I see a good potential," Tenzin said. "Now, here are a few things you should know. One, is that competitions are approximately once a month. We have them included in the price, so you need not pay more for your daughter to compete. Next is that our first competition will be in about three weeks. Third ... your daughter needs to get some equipment like a snorkel and those kinds of things. Finally, we have a competition at the end of the year. This one is different, however, and will be charged if you decide to place your daughter in."

"Well, how is it different," Asami asked.

"It will be in an Olympic swimming pool and will be hard," Tenzin replied.

"What's so special about an Olympic swimming pool?" Yasuko asked.

"Well for starters, it's fifty meters long," Tenzin informed them. "Now, I hate to be rude, but my students are probably wondering what to do next, so I have got to go. See you on Monday, Asami."

Yasuko put her arm around her daughter, "Weeeeell, how did it go?"

"I guess it was alright," Asami replied.

"Alright then, let's go home," Yasuko said. "Let's see what we'll get for dinner."

As they got inside the car, Asami felt her stomach rumble harder than it had ever done before. It hurt, and she knew that she needed to eat at that moment or she would die. Again, complete exaggeration, but she _was_ starving.

"Mom, can we get a pizza?" Asami asked.

"Yeah, why not?" her mother replied with a grin. "Call the pizza place and order what you want."

Asami called the pizza place and ordered three pizzas. This was more than what was normally ordered. The Sato's usually ordered two pizzas, and still there were left overs. So when they finally got home, an angry Hiroshi was waiting for them. Luckily though, he didn't give Asami too much trouble. Asami thought that this was probably due to how tired she looked, aside from the smell of the pizza, which was tempting enough to distract her overweight father. Once they finally sat down, Asami started shoving slices of pizza into her mouth.

"Asami! What's wrong with you?! You're eating like an animal!" her mother said. "Slow down a little. You look like someone who hasn't eaten in a century."

 _Yeah, well that's how I feel._ "Okay, mom, sorry," Asami replied. She slowed down, but of course, the hunger was still there, so she ended up eating an entire pizza by herself.

Today had been her first day swimming, and Asami could easily say that the day had also been the most tiring of her life. She felt heavy because of the exhaustion and also because she had eaten an entire pizza by herself, but she didn't feel full at all. _What the hell?_ She could say that swimming wasn't half as bad as she thought it would be. She actually enjoyed being a part of something where people liked her, and swimming seemed to have relaxed her a lot.

As she went upstairs, she got ready to go to sleep. Her eyes were already wearing out for the day. She brushed her teeth and was about to get changed, but sleepiness got the better of her as she saw her bed. _My beautiful bed._ She threw herself onto it and drifted away.


	3. Chapter 3

p style="border: 0px; margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"As Asami woke up to get ready for school, she couldn't help, but notice that the house was strangely quiet. She got up from bed a little slower than usual, because even though it was Friday, no school day is ever one to look forward to. Still on her bed, she took her pajama pants off, and was halfway through taking her shirt off as well when a burst of light came shining from the direction where the door was at. Her parents came barging in, singing the birthday song, but stopped very suddenly and looked away as fast as they could as Asami let out a scream. em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"KNOCKING!/em/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Oh my gosh! Haven't you strong style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"ever/strong heard of knocking?!" she yelled./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Sorry sweetheart!" her mom replied. "Forgive us and put on some clothes so we can sing you the birthday song!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Are you kidding?! What time is it? I'm going to be late for school!" Asami insisted. em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"It's like this woman doesn't want me to go. Though that wouldn't be such a bad idea.../em/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Yasuko pursed her lips./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Don't worry about that right now, honey. Just do what your father and I told you to," she said./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Ugh. Whatever," Asami replied. She put her clothes back on, and her parents came into the room once again. Once they finished the song, Asami thanked them. Though she told herself she was sixteen the last couple of weeks, it was now official. Her parents then got a small present for her and handed it over. Inside, was a soccer ball and not just any, it was a special one used by some of her favorite players. Inside the box came a little gift card for her phone./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Aw, thank you!" she said. She got up and gave her parents a hug./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Sorry it's not much," her father said. "But you know, with the money we have, we simply can't afford things that are too expensive."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Oh, don't worry about it," Asami said, meaning every word of it. She knew her parents were on a budget, but the fact that they went through the trouble of getting her a present meant the world to her. She sat on her bed in silence, looking at the presents until she suddenly sat upright./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""All right, well, I am going to go downstairs to get some breakfast. Congratulations, Asami," her dad said./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Man, I gotta get ready for school!" she exclaimed./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""What do you mean?" her mother asked./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Asami froze. She was standing on her bed and was about to jump over to her closet, but she turned around and looked at her mother; curious as to what she had meant by that last sentence she had spoken./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Mom... it's Friday, there's school today," she replied, a confused look on her face. em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"This again?/em/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Surprise!" Yasuko said./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""What's the surprise, mom?" Asami asked./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""You are not going to school today because..." she started drumrolling the side of Asami's bed, so the teenager just rolled her eyes. Inside, however, she was excited to hear what was going to happen./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""We're enrolling you into a new school!" her mother said./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Asami's jaw dropped from the excitement. She let out a small scream and jumped on top of her mom, giving her possibly the strongest hug she had ever given anyone before. Going to a new school would mean a fresh start. If she didn't become popular, she could at the very least, make some friends./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""You will now be attending the Four Elements school," her mother informed her. "It is a private school - like the one you are going to right now, only they say it's better./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Asami couldn't have been happier to hear that she was going to the Four Elements as everyone called it. She had heard that at that place, there were a ton of breaks./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""This is so awesome!" Asami exclaimed. "When are we enrolling?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""We're going today, so eat your breakfast quickly, as I want to have time to fix your party dinner," her mother said. "Any friends coming over, or just the "fam"?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""I guess you could say that only the family will be coming today, mom," Asami replied./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""D'oh... honey, you'll be fine," Yasuko said as she went up to her daughter and put her arms around her. "Now, hurry up! We do strong style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"not/strong want to be late. Trust me."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Asami was now alone in her room. She took her clothes off, hit the shower, did her hair, went to her closet and got the best clothes she had. Once she was finally ready, she went down, where she found her parents cooking her favorite for breakfast: French toast. em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Sweet./em She clapped her hands and sat down at the table as her dad read the newspaper and her mother gave her a plate full of French toast. Asami prepared them to her liking, and as her mother sat down, grabbed her first one./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""So how do you feel from yesterday, Asami?" her father asked./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""I em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"am/em a bit tired," Asami admitted. "But not too much - I didn't swim the two hours," she added./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Good, good," her father replied. "Did you enjoy it?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""I guess so," she said. "The people there are pretty cool."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Really?" her father asked, setting down the newspaper./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Oh, yeah," said Asami, while shoving a piece of toast down her mouth. There's this gir- I mean, there are four people besides me," she corrected herself, while slightly blushing. She grabbed the glass of milk in front of her and gave it a quick sip to hide it./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Come on, Asami, brush your teeth. We're leaving," her mother told her./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Saved by the bell.../em "Sure, mom, wait for me in the car; I'll be right out," she smiled./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""But strong style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"hurry/strong," her mom yelled as Asami ran up the stairs./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Sure thing!" Asami replied. She ran up the stairs, two at a time to get her teeth brushed. Once finished, she looked at herself in the mirror once again, and decided to put some more perfume on. She spritzed the little glass container, which held some of her old, expensive things and ran out, grabbed something to cover herself with, and ran out to the car, where her mother was waiting for her./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""What took you so long?" Yasuko asked. "Is that perfume?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Mom! Let's just go!" Asami replied./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Alright, alright," her mother answered, a smile creeping up her cheeks. Asami just sighed and decided to drop it. They drove toward the school when Asami made a realization./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Hey, mom! I won't have to swim anymore right?! I'm not even going to the school anymore!" Asami cried out happily./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""No, kiddo," her mother replied./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""What," Asami said, really surprised. "Wh-why not?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Because, Asami," her mother calmly answered, "there is no swimming pool in this school."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Asami didn't say another word and just kept her eyes fixed on the road. She couldn't explain why, but she felt kind of relieved when her mother told her that she would still be swimming. They didn't take long to get to the school and when they did, it seemed like everyone was in class because there was nobody to be seen in the hallways. As her mother tried to grab her hand, Asami yanked it away in a polite manner, walking faster so that her mother couldn't reach it. em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Don't need her embarrassing me today./em They walked over to reception, where they saw a single secretary who looked like she was in her twenties, but was probably in her thirties./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Good day, I am Yin!" she said with a smile on her face. "How can I help you?/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Hi there!" Yasuko replied. "I am looking to list my daughter into this school."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Of course! Just let me see her paperwork," she said. After that, Asami zoned out as she want to sit on a little bench that was nearby while her mother took care of enrolling her into the school. She sighed, half-excited for her birthday as she thought about how the party would be. Birthdays only came around once a year after all./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"After what seemed like an eternity waiting, it seemed like her mother and Yin were almost done, Asami got up. As she did, the school bell started ringing loudly. Asami didn't mind and went outside to the hallway, where doors were exploding with a lot of high-school students pouring out of them. Boys shoving each other around, and girls gossiping, this school looked a lot like the one Asami had just left. She must have been standing there for about a minute, when she heard someone say:/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Oh my gosh, is that em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"you/em Asami?!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Who the hell knows me here?/em Asami quickly turned around, wanting to see who had called out to her and was surprised to see Mako and Bolin coming to where she was./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Oh, hey guys!" she said. She hadn't even known them for so long and they were already calling her to say 'hi'. Asami didn't like a lot of people, but she definitely liked them./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""What are you doing here?" Mako asked. He sounded a bit interested there, though./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Well, it seems I am gonna be coming here," she replied./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Wow! That's so cool!" Bolin exclaimed. "Wait here, I'll go get Korra!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Ooh, she comes here, too?" Asami asked. She hoped that they didn't notice, but she played around with her hair for a little when she was mentioned by Bolin. em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"What the hell are you doing?/em/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""So, when will you start coming officially?" Mako asked./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""I don't really know," Asami replied. "I guess that by next week I should be here, but I also don't know how these things work," she continued with a little laugh./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Asami!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Asami turned around on her heels as soon as she heard Korra's voice. Truth was, this girl was driving her crazy, but she didn't really know why. em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Do I really need a friend this bad?/em Not wanting to have an awkward moment, she shook that thought out of her head and went up to Korra, who reached right out for a hug, so Asami followed. Her hair smelled like berries and was quite nice; Asami closed her eyes... em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"What the strong style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"fuck/strong, that must look so weird - don't smell her hair./emConfused with herself, Asami let go before Korra and smiled at the three in front of her./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""So, I hear you're gonna be coming to this school!" Korra said. "That is em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"so/em exciting!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""I em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"know/em," Bolin said. "Now you're not only part of our team, but of our school!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Hey, if you hang out with us, it would be nice to have another girl in the group," Korra said./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Bolin tried to answer, smirking, "Nice to finally have a strong style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"hot/strong gir-" but was nudged by Korra in the chest./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Not again, dude," she said, playfully. "You owed it to me, you did it yesterday."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Yeah, alright," said Bolin, who was holding his chest obviously in minor pain, but smiling nonetheless./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""What do you mean by having another girl in the group?" Asami asked. "How many em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"are/em you?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""It's just the three of us here," Mako responded while the other two looked away. "I guess you could say we're not really popular."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Ooh," Asami replied. She knew it sounded stupid, but she actually wasn't quite sure what to reply. "Well, I know this may not mean much from someone who you just met yesterday, but you guys seem pretty cool to me. I would em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"love/em to hang out with you guys."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Bolin was the first to respond, running up to Asami and hugging her./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""We have a fourth member now, guys! How exciting!" he said./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Mako and Korra didn't say anything, but they looked happy; Korra smiling and Mako attempting to do so, but Asami could tell that it wasn't common for him to do it. Then Asami thought, I haven't even entered this school and I have already placed myself with the people who aren't popular, which was sort of the opposite she had wanted to accomplish by coming to a new school. She looked around again and saw everyone. As she looked through, she couldn't see any group she was really interested in. For one thing, she hated the thought of having to constantly having to make herself likable to others, and looking at the people that had taken her in so quickly, she could see that high-school may not be as wild as she thought it would be, but at least she had some friends she could hang out with and truly be herself around. It felt good to finally have friends again and Asami thought of all the things they would be able to do together and remember her mother asking her if any friends were gonna be at her birthday party. em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Well, you might as well ask./em/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""So guys, you know it's actually my birthday today," she told them./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Oh!" the three replied in unison./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Congratulations!" Korra said./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Yeah, you have a great one!" Bolin added./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Congrats, Asami," Mako also said./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Heh, well, I'm actually throwing a small party -nothing big- just some family members, and I would really like it if you came," she followed./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"The three agreed and asked Asami for her phone number so that if they needed directions getting there, they could text her or call her. She was planning on giving her phone number to either Mako or Bolin, but when she asked Mako, Bolin asked her to add him anyway. She found it hard to believe those two were twins, as they were nothing alike in personality or physique - Bolin was much stronger. She wanted to talk to them for a little longer, but the bell rung./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""I guess we'll be seeing you tonight, Asami," Korra said, reaching out for a hug, which Asami gladly returned./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Bolin also gave her a hug, but Mako just waved, wishing her a happy birthday once more. With that, Asami returned to the main desk, skipping toward the bench. When she was about to sit down, however, her mother called her./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Asami, don't sit down - we're leaving," she announced. Then speaking unusually quick she said, "You got in. You won't be attending next week since they have to do all sorts of fixes to get you in classes and everything; I hope you like Spanish because you're gonna have it this year."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Woah, mom, you're talking very fast. Slow down a little; and no, I don't mind Spanish," she said, walking in front of her and stopping, so that she would slow down a little. "What's going on? Take three deep breaths."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Yasuko did just that, and when she was finished, put on a smile./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""I'm good, Asami," she said. "Let's just get home and get started on fixing the house up for our guests."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Oh, mom, that reminds me!" she piped. "I made some friends-!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""You made friends em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"this/em quickly?" Yasuko interrupted./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""They're actually from the swim team!" Asami said. "I met 'em yesterday and when I saw them here, I said 'why not?'"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Asami," her mother replied. "Honey, this is wonderful news! How many are they? Tell me so we can get everything we need."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Asami told her mother everything as they got into the car. They were in a hurry, so they went to the Costco in a rush, got the ingredients they wanted and raced back home, where Yasuko focused on making the meal which would be roasted duck while Asami hung banners, put the little cards which tell you where everyone sits at, and finally, spent way more time than she needed in the bathroom to get ready for all the guests. Once her father got home, Asami hurried him to his room so that he would get ready, demanding him to take a shower - this was her sweet sixteen party after all and though she didn't want anything big, she at least expected her father to dress up. As usual, when the doorbell rang, nobody was quite ready yet except for Asami./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""I'll get it!" she called out./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"When she opened the door, she found out that it was her mother's older sister Yee-Li along with her husband, Ryu. They had two sons, Jin Wei and Pao who are now eleven and eight, respectively. They were quite a mess, but give them an iPad or an Xbox they can play on, and they'll behave fine. It was actually a routine of theirs, so they got to a point where they just brought their own games over, which Asami didn't mind so long as they don't touch her stuff. She had more family members who were supposed to come over, but nobody else could make it except for her grandparents from her mother and father's side. Fong and Giya were Yasuko and Yee-Li's parents and Karu and Michi were Hiroshi's parents. Not long after, Mako and Bolin arrived./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"They waved goodbye to their parents and came into Asami's house, where she sat them down over where everyone except for her cousins were. Mako got along splendidly with Asami's grandfather Fong, who had always been a strict man, while Bolin seemed to enjoy himself with the family. After ten minutes later, Korra arrived. When Asami opened the door for her, Korra hugged her until Asami had to tell her that she was doing it too hard. Asami brought Korra to where the two brothers were at, and they all exchanged greetings. The party went on with a cake and the duck, but better yet, it was what Asami had asked for. It was simple, yet fun to be with everyone that she loved. Not much longer than three minutes later, Bolin casually pulled Asami aside for a moment./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""What's wrong, Bolin?" she asked./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""No! Nothing's wrong!" he replied./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Then why-?" Asami started, but Bolin interrupted her before she could finish./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Ssh! Listen. Korra has known Mako and me for a while; more or less, three years, since we met in middle school," he began./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Yeah," Asami replied. "So?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Well, we started this tradition back at em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"her/em sweet sixteen. We didn't know it would be one, but we decided to do it again at Mako's and mine and from then on, we promised to do it every birthday together," he said./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""But do strong style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"what/strong exactly?" Asami insisted./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Well, we get a few drinks," he calmly explained. "Alcoholic of course, I wouldn't be telling you this in private if I wanted to drink some Fanta with you."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"This made Asami laugh like she hadn't done in a while, but she grew concerned./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Listen, I hate to be one to ruin the moment, but we're still underage. What if we get caught and-?" Bolin once again interrupted her./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Hey, hey, hey! We don't have to do it if you don't want to," he said. "I mean, I bought the beers just in case, but seriously, we have em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"such/em a good time."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Asami quickly scanned the area and met with Mako and Korra's eyes. They were both asking the same question Bolin was asking, but in a more silent manner em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Well? Are you going to do it or are you going to be the one who ruins some tradition that they seem to enjoy?/em Asami looked again, but saw nobody else looking at her, so she decided to go with style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Why the hell not?/em/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""You know what? Sure. We can use the backyard if you want," she told Bolin./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Great! We'll have a perfect view!" he replied./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""What are we gonna look at," Asami asked./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Sorry!" he apologized. "I forgot to tell you that we also look up at the stars when we're out there. So relaxing," he added./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Oh! All right then," she said./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Yep, go outside, I'll get the beers and Mako and Korra will be out in a few."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Sounds good!" Asami answered. She had to admit that she felt very excited about doing this, although she wasn't quite sure what part of it made her feel excited. The risk, the fact that she's doing it with friends, or something else? She casually pulled away from the party and waited for her teammates to arrive. One by one, they went outside to where Asami was. First Korra, then Mako, and finally, Bolin./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""This is where the party get's better!" Mako said. "Not that the party wasn't cool, Asami, because I had a really good time."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"Asami knew he meant it, so she simply nodded with a smile on her face. As Bolin passed the beers around, they each laid down on the soft, slightly wet grass. They each opened their cans and looked up at the stars. Bolin took a sip from his first. Asami was about to, but took it away from her lips to look at the glass bottle for a little./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Asami," Korra said with a little laugh. "There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""But what if I get drunk?" she replied. em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Your mom would fucking kill you./em/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""You won't," Mako said. "Trust me."/p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Okay," she said. "If you guys say so." She brought the bottle up to her lips and as she started drinking it, she spit it out almost immediately. The three other teenagers roared with laughter, and Asami couldn't help, but to join in. This had been her first beer ever and she couldn't be happier than to have it out with her friends./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;""Some say you have to learn to love it," Korra informed her as she took a sip of hers./p  
p style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #8b4513;"After that, they looked up at the stars in the sky, pointing out constellations, talked about life, and stared at the big, beautiful September moon that had joined them for the night. All in all, it was easily the day, which Asami enjoyed the most, laughed the most, and it was definitely one she would always remember./p 


End file.
